The present invention relates to halogen worklights and is more particularly directed to arrangements for including a spare halogen bulb with a worklight.
Halogen worklights have become popular for use in such varied settings as construction jobs, industrial plants, automotive and auto body repair shops, artist and photographic studios, and projects around the home. Halogen bulbs have a comparatively high operating temperature and consequently a limited life, and it is not uncommon for them to burn out while in use on the job. When a bulb fails on the job, it interrupts the project at hand and usually has to be replaced before the work can continue. Thus, it is desirable to have a spare bulb handy.
At least two forms of spare bulb holders are known for a halogen bulb having a slender elongated profile such as commonly used in worklights that attach themselves to or form an integral part of the worklight, worklight stand or supporting structure. U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,278 of Grossman et al. shows a spare bulb storage compartment incorporated into a handle of the worklight that engages the spare bulb along its entire length in a supporting sleeve. U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,989 of Leen shows a worklight with an integral spare bulb container that uses a pair of end pieces that frictionally fit into a longitudinal spare bulb housing and which have longitudinal holes for receiving the ends of the elongate halogen bulb.
The present invention provides an alternative spare bulb holder arrangement for a quartz-halogen-type bulb that holds the bulb securely and safely against the rigors of use to which worklights can be subjected on the job and that nevertheless makes it easy to extract the bulb from the holder for use. The bulb holder is used with an elongate double-ended bulb of the sort that has an elongate envelope with end portions at each end of the envelope that are adapted for mounting the bulb and establishing electrical connections therewith. Briefly, a spare bulb holder in accord with the invention includes an elongate bulb housing sized to receive a spare bulb, a spare bulb support structure sized to be received within the bulb housing, and a housing end cap for closing the bulb housing and for removing and inserting the spare bulb support structure. The support structure includes first and second bulb engaging members spaced apart from one another and disposed on the support structure to lie in registration with the end portions of the bulb. The bulb engaging members are formed to hold the bulb at its end portions and to enable a user to insert a bulb into and remove a bulb from the end portions. The end cap is connected to the support structure such that removing the end cap also removes the support structure.
A spare bulb holder as described herein enjoys a number of benefits and advantages. A spare bulb is held securely and safely and so as to minimize excess or extraneous ware on the spare bulb while it is carried with the worklight. The spare bulb in the holder is able to withstand the rough handling and adverse conditions that may be met on the job on a par with the operating worklight bulb. The spare bulb holder may be embodied in a very simple construction making for simple and thus less costly fabrication, as well as simplicity and ease of use in inserting and withdrawing a bulb from the bulb holder.
Other aspects, advantages, and novel features of the invention are described below or will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following specifications and drawings of illustrative embodiments.